


Another Trip Around The Sun

by therestisjustconfetti



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Birthday Celebrations, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, True Love, soul-mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therestisjustconfetti/pseuds/therestisjustconfetti
Summary: Birthdays had never been special for Jamie, but Dani wanted to change that.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 9
Kudos: 335





	Another Trip Around The Sun

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this idea in my head for a few days and figured I’d run with it because writing it made me so happy. I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> And thank you for all the comments and kudos on my other stories, I love to know what people think!

Birthdays had never been special for Jamie. They had never been something she celebrated, and not something she ever really wanted to. Her childhood wasn’t full of cheerful or colourful memories. There were no balloons and no parties with other children. No cake. A birthday to her only ever meant she was older, and with that age came more responsibility. Too much responsibility. A birthday meant more weight on her shoulders and more of her family's burden to bear. 

But that was all before Dani. A lot of things in her life changed when Dani walked into it. Every moment and every milestone started to mean more because they never knew when it may be their last together, though that was a thought neither tried to dwell on too often. 

Together they had settled into a quiet and beautiful life in Vermont and everything was blissfully normal. An idea popped into Dani’s head one day after having a conversation with Jamie about their astrological signs, a topic that came up after Jamie had read something about them in a book. And from that conversation, they started to talk about their birthdays. 

How vastly different their experiences were when it came to the concept of a birthday. So different in fact that Jamie couldn’t even remember the last time she had ever heard another soul wish her a happy birthday and the day had completely slipped past her during the few years prior, like it was simply any other boring old day. 

After that conversation, Dani decided that this year would be different for Jamie. This year would be a birthday worth remembering and she was going to do everything she could to make that happen. 

Sure, it would be spent with only the two of them but neither would shy away from the fact that spending their days that way was exactly how they liked it. 

A birthday needed cake and decorations and champagne. And presents. Jamie was a very simple woman who never wanted for anything, she never found much comfort in materialistic things because she never had any need to. Much of her life had been spent just scraping by with enough to live simply and it was something Dani admired about her, the ability to find comfort in the small things in life. She admired Jamie for that but also hated that she needed to live that way for so long because as a child, she had no other choice. A life lived with just the bare necessities was a hard one but it helped shape her into the strong and independent woman she now was. 

Dani knew it would be challenging to slip away from Jamie in order to gather all the supplies she needed for the birthday surprise and found herself coming up with little white lies in order to go off on her own. She worried that Jamie would grow suspicious, or worse, would figure out the surprise completely and ruin all the fun. Luckily, that wasn’t the case and Jamie remained none the wiser. 

Dani had placed an order for a birthday cake at a bakery down the street from the apartment she shared with Jamie. It was a place that they would often frequent for breakfast or coffee and tea. A small hole in the wall where the staff knew the locals and much to both Dani and Jamie’s surprise, they had become some of those locals over just a short period of time. 

The decorations had come from a department store on the other side of town and Dani snuck out one afternoon while Jamie was busy putting together an intricate custom arrangement at the flower shop. The Leafling had become their safe haven of sorts and as the business flourished, so did their relationship.

Next was something to drink and a good bottle of champagne wasn’t cheap. While they had been making a comfortable living thanks to the shop, it was still an expense that Dani knew Jamie would never approve of if she knew about it. But, it was for a special occasion, for something very much worth celebrating and she would never get a say in the matter. 

The last thing Dani needed to get was her present for her girlfriend and she had told Jamie she was going to the post office to send some things to her Mom, a total white lie. She instead found herself in a shop looking for things she had never wanted to seek out In her life, until Jamie. In her life before Jamie, the idea of it made her uncomfortable because of who she was doing it for and what would typically come after, but she lived a different life now. 

After choosing what she wanted, she stood staring at herself in the changing room mirror for five minutes. She had never been self conscious about her body but had also never flaunted it. When she exited the changing the room, the saleswoman insisted that her choice would go over very well and despite her slight hesitation, Dani agreed with her and made the purchase. 

When Jamie’s birthday finally arrived, it fell on a day when the flower shop wasn’t open but a large floral delivery needed to be made across town and Jamie insisted that she could take care of it on her own so Dani could have some relaxing quiet time at home. It was so like Jamie to allow Dani to rest while taking on the extra work, so selfless and giving. The timing could not have been more perfect. Dani helped her load the car up with everything, gave her a sweet kiss goodbye and the moment Jamie pulled away from the flower shop, Dani rushed down the road to pick up the cake and then back to the apartment to prepare for the surprise. 

With the decorations all finally hung, the cake set out with candles stuck in it, and two glasses ready for the chilling champagne - Dani took a long deep breath and started to second guess her idea. Maybe it was too much, she thought. Maybe Jamie would be overwhelmed. Maybe she had time to pack everything back up and settle onto the couch with a book instead. Jamie could walk in and never know otherwise, but those thoughts didn’t get to linger long. 

As Dani paced back and forth in front of the kitchen island, she heard a key turn in the lock and Jamie walked into the apartment with her nose buried in some order forms and receipts, totally oblivious to what was waiting for when she pulled her eyes away from the papers in her hands. 

“Fuck. That was a good sale for us, Poppins” she said. “I hope she refers us to some of her other clients because we could use more li....”

The rest of Jamie’s sentence got lost in her throat when she looked up to find Dani standing in front of her with bright eyes and a warm, excited smile. 

“Happy Birthday.”

Jamie was stunned as she glanced around the room. There were different coloured streamers hanging from the ceiling everywhere, balloons covering the floor, and ‘Happy Birthday’ banners strung across the wall. 

“Dani...I…what...”

Dani rushed towards her and reached for one of her hands. “Is it too much? It’s too much isn’t it...I just wanted to surprise you with something nice. I thought maybe...maybe your birthday could be something worth celebrating this year because it’s worth celebrating to me. To me, you’re worth celebrating.”

Jamie doesn’t say anything. Her eyes continue to scan the room and she absorbs all of the colours and delicately placed decorations, acknowledging the time and effort she knew it it would have taken Dani to arrange it all on her own.

“We can pretend like none of this is here if that's what you want, I know it's probably a lot to take in and I’m sorry if you’re overwhelmed.”

Finally, Jamie turns her focus to the woman standing in front of her - the woman with a smile that lit up any room she walked into, the woman she had fallen so fiercely in love with. The only person in her life who would ever go through so much effort to do something like this for her and the person whose face now had uncertainty written all over it. 

“You did all of this. For me,” Jamie says. 

“Well...yeah...I wanted to do something that would make you happy,” Dani replies. “I know that this type of thing isn’t totally your style but I decided you deserved a surprise. Everyone deserves a good surprise on their birthday, especially you.”

Jamie’s eyes fill with tears. “Oh, Dani,” she says. A tear slips out and starts to roll down her cheek but Dani is quick to react and brings a hand up to her face, wiping the tear away and softly rubbing the skin with her thumb.

“No, no. I’m sorry, please don’t cry. Oh shoot. I didn’t want to make you cry. I wanted to make you smile,” Dani says and rests her forehead against Jamie’s. 

Jamie laughs a little. “These are happy tears, Poppins. I don’t even know what to say other than thank you.” She pulls back from Dani and looks around the room again with a beaming smile. “I’m a bit stunned. I can’t believe you did all of this.”

Dani never takes her eyes off Jamie as she soaks it all in. The brunette’s eyes are red and shining from the tears but the smile on her face is one of the most beautiful things Dani has ever seen - so full of childlike wonder and happiness. 

Jamie steps away from Dani and walks through the streamers that hang down like the branches of a willow tree and balloons swirl around her feet. She’s amazed by Dani and turns around to look at her girlfriend again. 

“What did I do to deserve this?” Jamie asks. 

“You love me. You love me so completely and you have made my life into more than I ever thought it could be. You deserve it because you’re you,” Dani answers. “And because you stay.”

Jamie swallows the lump in her throat and she wants to say so much but just can’t find the words to express how she feels. 

“And there’s more,” Dani adds. “It’s not a birthday celebration with just decorations.”

She goes into the kitchen and takes the champagne out of the fridge and moves the cake onto the kitchen island. 

“Dani…” Jamie says when she spots the bottle of champagne. She knows how much it must have cost. 

Dani looks up at her and shakes her head. “It’s your birthday, Jamie. It’s allowed. Now close your eyes.”

Jamie sighs and smirks as she does what she’s told. She hears the familiar flick sound of a lighter and then feels Dani standing in front of her. 

“Okay. You can open your eyes.”

When she does, she is met with the shimmering flicker of candles. 

Dani sings through the melody of Happy Birthday and they both laugh happily a little as she does. 

“Make a wish,” Dani says.

A wish. What does a person wish for when they already have everything they could ever want? Well, almost. There was one thing Jamie wanted that she didn’t have, but she had made peace with the fact that it would never be a guarantee. The wish for a life with Dani that could be spent without fear of the lady of the lake changing her, taking her. She couldn’t wish for that. But she could wish for peace and love and happiness during the time they did have, things that some people would never get to truly experience and for that, she knew she was lucky. She knew she already had all of those things, but she wanted more. She takes a deep breath and then closes her eyes and blows out the candles. 

Dani cuts the cake and serves them each a slice and then pops the cork on the bottle of champagne, giggling as she bubbly liquid spills over the spout of the bottle. Neither woman had ever been one for that type of alcohol but there was something special about having the drink just to celebrate. It was sweet and smooth and made them both feel light and giddy. They sat on the couch and ate their cake and drank their champagne and it was unlike any birthday Jamie had ever experienced. She still didn’t understand how she of all people was lucky enough to have Dani in her life and to her, Dani was and would always be the greatest gift she’d ever been given. 

But, Dani did have one more birthday surprise for her and she knew it was the right time to give her that gift when Jamie scooped some icing on her finger and reached out to wipe it across Dani’s lips just so she could lean in and kiss it away. 

“I want you to go to our bedroom,” Dani says.

Jamie raised an eyebrow and licked her lips. “And why’s that, Poppins?”

“It wouldn’t be much of a birthday surprise if I told you, now would it.”

“I get another surprise? I’m starting to like this whole birthday thing,” Jamie replies. She stands up from the couch and takes a step in the direction of the hall but stops and turns back to Dani, leans down and kisses her deeply. It’s a kiss full of passion, one that conveys so much emotion that it leaves Dani completely breathless and tongue tied when Jamie pulls away and disappears down the hall and into their bedroom. 

Dani had prepared for her final surprise before Jamie had gotten home and she quickly gets up from the couch and pulls off her trousers and undoes the buttons on her blouse with shaky fingers. She’s glad that Jamie is waiting in the other room and not there to watch as the nerves settle in slightly again. 

She knows she shouldn’t be nervous. She knows the way Jamie looks at her, the way her eyes would darken with lust and the way her breath would hitch whenever she was barely clothed. Jamie was wildly attracted to her, that much was obvious. But still, she was nervous. Once all of her clothes were sitting in a pile on the ground around her feet, she took a long and steading deep breath. 

“Poppins,” Jamie called out from down the hall, “the birthday girl is waiting.”

That voice and the smile it brought to Dani’s face was enough to make all of the nerves fade in an instant and with a new found confidence, she walked towards the bedroom. When she got to the threshold of their room, she leaned against the door frame and Jamie’s jaw dropped as she took in what her girlfriend was wearing. 

Jamie wasn’t sure where to let her eyes land because Dani was standing in front of her wearing a green lace matching lingerie set that hugged her body in all of the right ways and was unlike anything the blonde had ever worn before. It was a total shock to Jamie’s system and she felt it right down to her core. The bra was made of a thin, nearly see through material which gave Jamie an excellent view of her chest and the underwear was small and made of the same material, leaving very little to the imagination. It was soft. Feminine. So perfectly Dani. 

“Do you like it?” Dani asks innocently. 

Jamie can’t speak. All she can do is stare and try to stop herself from drooling at the sight of the woman standing before her looking like that. She was a vision. Dani slowly walked towards the bed and motioned for Jamie to move so she was sitting on the edge, to which she eagerly obliged. 

“I chose green because it’s a colour you love,” Dani says. Jamie can only nod and look Dani up and down again. Her mouth is dry and she licks her lips. Dani grabs her hands and places them on her hips. “And you’re allowed to touch your birthday present, you know. It’s actually very, very encouraged.”

Jamie starts to lightly scrape her fingers up and down Dani’s sides as she looks up at her with a hunger she can’t deny. “Fuck, Poppins. This is...you look....”

Dani laughs and slips her fingers into Jamie’s hair and the brunette leans in and presses kisses all across her stomach. When Jamie slowly inches her hands upwards towards the edge of her bra, Dani straddles her hips and pushes her back onto the bed. 

“Your birthday is so far from over,” Dani whispers in her ear and kisses her way across Jamie’s jaw back to her lips. She kisses her just as deeply as Jamie had kissed her on the couch, with an eagerness and a lustfulness that before Jamie, Dani had never felt before in her life. This is what it's supposed to feel like. She knew it after the first time she and Jamie kissed in the greenhouse and she was infatuated by the taste of Jamie ever since. Those early feelings had just grown stronger over time. 

The kiss is deep and sloppy and leaves both women with an ache and a wanting deep in their bones and it’s not long until Jamie has slowly stripped Dani of her green set, appreciating all of its detail and the way it clung to her body. Its admired as it slips off her skin and Jamie’s hands replace the areas the set had been covering. 

Later that night, Dani and Jamie lay under the covers with Dani’s arm draped across Jamie’s torso. It was a rarity for Dani to be the little spoon, because underneath her tough exterior and rough edges, Jamie was incredibly soft and found great comfort in being wrapped up in Dani’s arms. 

“So that’s what a good birthday feels like,” Jamie says quietly. 

Dani smiles and kisses her shoulder. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Jamie turns around in her arms and reaches up to brush some hair behind her ear. She rests her hand on Dani’s cheek and smiles a smile that is so full of love, adoration, and joy - the sight of it makes Dani tingle all over. It was a smile saved just for her and one that she treasured. 

“Thank you. I loved it and I love you,” Jamie says and nudges her nose against Dani’s.

“I love you too,” Dani replies. 

Jamie kisses her and Dani’s eyes flutter closed and her stomach fills with butterflies like it always does. They kiss for a few more minutes until a long breath of air is needed and they reluctantly pull back from one another. 

“So…” Jamie says and softly runs her thumb across Dani’s bottom lip. “Do I get to see you in that outfit again anytime soon?”

“Mmhmm, maybe if you play your cards right. But a birthday is a special occasion and that was a very special outfit.”

“Special is definitely one word to describe it.”

“You seemed to enjoy taking it off of me more than having me in it.”

“Believe me, Dani. The image of you in...that...will live in my mind forever. But it was my present, wasn’t it? I was just unwrapping it. Since I didn’t get many presents as a kid, fucked in childhood and whatnot, I really wanted to take my time and enjoy the experience.” 

Dani laughs and nestles her head into the crook of Jamie’s neck. “Maybe next year’s present will be even better.”

It was rare for Dani to speak about the future that way but often when they lay together in that blissful afterglow state, comments like that would sometimes slip out. 

Dani kisses Jamie’s collarbone and lets out a long and content sigh. “You tired?” she asks. 

Jamie shakes her head and slides a hand down to Dani’s hip under the covers. When she slips it down a little lower, Dani hums in approval and Jamie moves on top of her. The two women fall back into a perfect rhythm and the birthday decorations and lingerie go forgotten. It turns out another trip around the sun isn’t really all that terrible and Jamie learns that maybe her birthday wasn’t so bad afterall, not if she had Dani by her side to celebrate.


End file.
